Four decades into a career, Stryper has released its 18th studio album, Throne of Thorns. Apparently, nobody ever told them metal was supposed to come with a retirement age.
Out now through Frontiers Music Srl, Throne of Thorns continues the combination that has defined Stryper since the 1980s: heavy guitars, stacked harmonies, oversized choruses and a Christian message delivered without much interest in subtlety. Michael Sweet, Oz Fox, Perry Richardson and Robert Sweet aren’t trying to disguise where they came from, but they’re not particularly interested in living there either.
Arriving alongside the album is “Shadowbreaker,” the record’s closing track and one Michael Sweet describes as representative of Stryper’s heavier side in 2026. It’s a fitting way to introduce an album built around the band’s familiar melodic-metal foundation while emphasizing a harder edge.
Richardson describes the record as music shaped by “living, struggling, growing, and refusing to quit,” while Fox points to the commitment the four musicians brought to both the music and its message.
That last part has always mattered with Stryper. Plenty has changed in hard rock since the band’s yellow-and-black days first attracted attention, but Stryper has never seemed particularly confused about what it believes, what it sounds like or why it’s still doing this.
The band isn’t giving listeners much time to digest album number 18, either. Stryper heads back on the road next week in support of Throne of Thorns.
After four decades, maybe perseverance isn’t just part of Stryper’s message anymore. It’s part of the résumé.
Throne of Thorns is available now through Frontiers Music Srl.
Learn More: Stryper Official Website
Information provided by Stryper’s publicity team.